Kitsune Jewel - I did warn you there would be a whole lot of oblivious wizard! other than that, glad you thought the chapter cute!
This chapter is dedicated to Dark Serpent Cat, not specifically for help on this chapter but for being a brilliant sound board for Chosen Two as a whole!
I am excited about third year, but I am even more excited for fourth year. Basically, I'm excited!
-YDHP-
Harry leaned into the mirror again, closed his eyes, rubbed at them and even wiped the mirror. Nothing made the change in his eyes go away. "You've got to be kidding me." He didn't know who he was talking to, other than himself. His eyes were the same vibrant green as ever, but the pupils had elongated. There was no other word for it. His eyes looked like snake eyes. His eyes... Fuck, his eyes looked like Voldemorts had. Just green instead of red. Harry retched, barely making it to the toilet to vomit at the resemblance to the evil hidden deep in his DNA.
"Not good. Not good at all." He blinked in the mirror as he rinsed his mouth out, cold sweat beading on his forehead. The more he looked around, he could see... things. A faint greenish glow around the bath and toilet, a pinkish warm sort of light on the towel rack. Cleaning charms and warming charms. Looking down, Harry saw the pale blue surrounding his skin - Vlad's cooling charm. Trying to focus, the glows faded. Turning back to the mirror, he sighed in relief as he realised his eyes were back to normal. Still, not good. "Can you come a day early before we leave for school?" He scrawled the note out to Vlad in their linked journals.
"I'll work it out. What's wrong?" Vlad shot back almost instantly, and Harry quickly answered with "nothing major, just need your outside school magic. I'm fine, don't worry." Vlad worried more than Harry had ever known. It was a little strange, but nice. Harry hadn't had anyone care so much before he met his best friends. Or at all really, as he couldn't remember his parents. Though he knew they loved him, they had died for him.
"Alright. See you soon." Vlad wrote back, and Harry breathed out in relief. Vlad would have a plan. Maybe he could... glamour his face so nobody saw the freaky eye thing. Not using magic outside of Hogwarts sucked, but Vlad and Ingrid's special powers meant that they got special permssion, in order to ensure they kept training and didn't end up with accidental magic bursting out of them like Vlad had when he broke Ron's wrist. Brushing his fringe over his face self consciously, he went back to packing his trunk, taking the books off the bookshelf and loading them in.
He was folding his robes when Dobby 'popped' in, looked at Harry's rumpled pile of clothes and snapped his bony fingers, and Harry's clothes neatly folded themselves and fit snugly in his trunk. "Thanks Dobby." "It is a pleasure Master Potter!" He had corrected Dobby a couple dozen times, but tried again anyway. "Harry, please. What did you come in here for?" Dobby bounced around, ears flapping as he did so.
"Master Draco instructed the elves to ensure all laundering and clothing is finished and sorted for Master Harry Potter and himself to go back to Hogwarts! I will take the basket and be on my way Master Harry Potter sir!" Dobby's squeaky voice seemed to linger as he and the laundry baskets contents vanished, leaving Harry to make sure he had packed owl treats and Lily's tank.
"The elf makes so much noise. May I eat him?" Lily hissed as she wound herself around his bicep, the better to rest her head on his shoulder near his ear. The snake knew she wasn't allowed to hurt living things, it was her way of expressing annoyance - she threatened Phantom with eating her on a near-daily basis when the furry Bastion familiar irritated her. "No. You know that. Do you know whats happening to my eyes?" He could see a white line glowing in the door, which he thought may be a repair charm so he expected his eyes were snake-like again.
"The sight of a magical serpent. We see magic differently to you humans. At a guess." He knew Lily's kind were said to be overly perceptive, and too little was known about basilisks to be sure - particularly their eyes - about them. Still, seeing magic was weird. How did Vlad and Ingrid train doing this? It must give them a wicked headache. The glows faded again thankfully, and when he was called for dinner Harry kept his eyes on his plate. "Are you alright Harry?" Severus quizzed, and Harry nodded. "Just tired. Too excited about going back to school, can't sleep!" He worked to keep the enthusiasm in his voice, offering a smile when the pink glow of warming charms on his plate disappeared.
"Perhaps utilise a sleeping draught for now. It's important you are well rested to return to school. When do the Draculas return?" Realising he hadn't asked - though he doubted Draco would mind - Harry shrugged. "Day before we go back I think. They have a portkey to the platform, which is technically not allowed and beats travelling there. Don't you have to go back before us too? So Bertrand will be our responsible adult." Severus nodded, listing off the things he had to prepare in his office and classroom before the students returned. The potions master also knew they couldn't send Draco and Harry to Stokely Castle to wait, as Draco didn't know about Count Dracula and the vampire genes running through his kids.
The weird sight thing flickered out with no rhyme or reason, and Harry spent most of his time in the library doing work just to keep his eyes down until Vlad and Ingrid returned the day before Hogwarts. Bertrand had come a day and a half before, so Draco and Harry wouldn't be alone in Malfoy Manor. Flicking through a book on cooking charms out of sheer boredom (Draco was giving messages to the Malfoy elves, as they would be alone in the manor until Christmas now), he suddenly found himself with a face full of black fur. "Phantom! If you damage a book Draco will hex me six ways to Pluto!" Vlad charged in after his familiar, then smiled as he saw Harry.
"Ah. She was after you then." Phantom darted out from under Vlad's hands, off to cause mischief elsewhere in the Manor he suspected. "So, what's the emergency? Are you ok Harry?" Harry looked around, checking nobody was about to follow them in. "My room. Come on." Vlad followed instantly, passing Ingrid on her way to the Ladies suite she had commandeered. She gave Harry a passing greeting, seeming a little... subdued. Vlad pressed a finger to his own mouth, telling Harry to stay quiet until they were alone.
His door closed behind them, Vlad quickly explained. "Dads a little too hard on her. Begged me not to go back, asked if Ingrid could start staying there during the summer. Plus... Her transformation is this school year, she has to prepare for her OWLs while her body starts shifting. It can be rough. Anyway, what did you need me for?" Harry could see Vlad differently all of a sudden - his hands had a black glow, stripes of red and white through the aura around his whole body, his friend was almost thrumming with magic. Looking down, his own glow was a little greener, but there was red and gold and blue all over him. He looked like a firework waiting to go off.
Turning eyes up to Vlad, he wasn't surprised Vlad drew back a little, blinking and rubbing his eyes. "I thought I saw something, but it vanished before I was sure." Vlad sat next to him, leaning in and there was an intense moment of silence as Vlad stared into his eyes. "I won't lie, it's pretty cool to look at. But I'm guessing you don't want anyone else seeing this? Is it triggered by something? Or just random? Because it wasn't there five minutes ago." Vlad jumped straight to the heart of it, and Harry was relieved that Vlad at least wasn't terrified by the resemblance to Voldemort his eyes sort of gave him.
"Yeah. I figured maybe you could put a glamour charm on me, like you do with that bite mark on Bertrand's neck?" Vlad dug through his backpack, pulling out a book on appearance altering charms - it was apparently for future need, if he needed to hide his fangs. He couldn't picture Vlad with fangs. "I think it would be easier to glamour your glasses. It'll wear off much slower. I need to wait for the... snake eyes to wear off again, so I know what I'm copying. Hand me your glasses." Harry took off the rounded glasses, holding them out to Vlad. "Wow. I hadn't thought to check, but I can see fine right now." As the magic glows faded, so did his suddenly clear vision and the world was suddenly a little fuzzy again. "Damn. Anyway, do the glamour."
Vlad stared at him intently for a minute, making Harry want to squirm under the scrutiny of his intense gaze. "Ok. Got it." Vlad wrapped a hand around his glasses, then whispered "oculus viridian" almost silently, and Harry's glasses glowed for a moment and then faded to look normal again. Replacing them on his nose, Vlad nodded and Harry went to check in the mirror. "If you use a finite incatatum spell, come back to me to check the glamour in case it cancels it out. Otherwise, I'll be able to see there's a glamour. Ingrid might see it too, but I'll explain it to her in tutoring class or something."
Vlad had a way of relaxing Harry, always having a solution or at least being willing to follow Harry into a half-baked plan and figuring out a way to get them both out alive. And now, glamouring his glasses and not questioning the quirks of Harry's bizarre changes from Samael biting him. He was a vampire, he understood changes there were no control over. "All this plus your magical spurt being due. Should be a fun year." Harry cocked his head in confusion. "Magical spurt?"
"Yeah. I don't know how it'll work for me and Ingrid, but pretty much any witch and wizard has two magical growth spurts, thats why magic schools wait until you're eleven. One due around 13-14, the second by 16-17. Again, thats why we elect new classes for third year, and the second is when we come of age in the magical world. It's all to do with managing and utilising the way magic grows. Plus with Samael boosting you in some weird way, your power growth could be even more different. If it is, we'll figure out. You all packed for school?" Vlad could drop a bombshell about magic growth and then jump back to normal conversation.
"Yup. All my clothes clean, books and stuff packed. Lily's tank too, can you carry her in your backpack for the portkey trip?" Vlad nodded, smiling. "Sure. No worries. Lets go test your glasses, dinner should be ready soon." The vampire squeezed his shoulder, smiled and stood up. As Harry stood up too, his vision went green, the glow of the glamour on his lenses uncomfortably bright. "We gotta figure out how to control this sight thing, I'm gonna get a headache looking through this glamour stuff." Vlad raised an eyebrow, and Harry realised he hadn't explained what the eyes could see. "I'll explain later. Make sure I don't fall down the stairs."
Vlad reached out, wrapped cool fingers around his wrist and guided Harry to the banister. "There you go. Go slow." Harry made it down without falling head over heels, and the glow went away by the time they had reached the dining room. Ingrid gave Harry an odd look, but Vlad did say Ingrid may notice the glamour charm somewhat so he tried not to panic.
Staring so close to Harry was a cruel punishment, the scent of his mate so close and Vlad felt a new, almost overwhelming urge to kiss the wizard. He didn't, of course but he knew the bond was evolving, and he had maybe a year or two before his whole body wanted Harry. This was bad. He forced himself to focus on helping Harry, and not telling him the snake-like eyes were... oddly appealing. Harry wouldn't appreciate such things.
The glamour seemed to work well, as he could tell when Harry's vision thing flickered in, his face would twitch and his eyes seemed to go out of focus. When Harry explained that he could sort of see magic, or certain spells and the aura around Vlad (did it HAVE to be black?), it was fascinating. Whatever Samael had done to Harry, it seemed to be ramping up with his magic burst due to come in.
He wondered if Harry was born to be different and Samael had seen it, or if it was like being turned by a vampire - just something that happened and was changing him. It was soothing in a way, that his mate had some unique senses and talents too, it made Vlad feel less of a freak, and may even explain how it was possible he had a non-vampire mate. He couldn't help but wonder... was Harry entirely human? With Voldemort in his genes, Samael in his blood and he had survived the killing curse as merely an infant. He was unique, there was no denying that.
Rising the next morning, Vlad leapt out of bed and hurried through his shower. They were going back to Hogwarts today! He loved the school, full of adventure and mystery and magic and Harry. Hogwarts had brought him his mate, the old building would always be special. "Almost nine am. Everyone ready? Bertrand?" The tutor nodded, holding up his bottle of sun potion and Vlad waved the matching spell over him. "Why are we going early?" Draco quizzed, apparently not aware Vlad and Ingrid had permission to get there early.
"We just do. Living in Wales and having to go alone by portkey, we were just told to get there in advance. The portkey is timed. And with Bertrand, it's better to go there before anyone else in case he forgets the sunblock potion, we don't want anyone noticing he smoulders." Draco nodded, grasping the handle of his trunk like everyone else did. Except Vlad and Ingrid, who had theirs shrunk and pocketed. Lily was in his backpack, Phantom in the carrier Bertrand was holding for him - his own things were also in Vlad's pocket, shrunken down for ease of access.
They each grabbed hold of the stick, and as the clock struck nine they were all dragged along to the empty platform. Almost immediately, he, Ingrid and Bertrand tensed up, no doubt all picking out the same scent. Werewolf. "Usual compartment?" "Yep!" Vlad levitated their trunks to the end of the train, then turned to Bertrand. "You two stay here, we won't be a second." Leaving no time to argue, Vlad followed the other two vampires out and cast a locking charm on the compartment door. "Where?" He knew Bertrands senses were most developed, turning to him to track.
Bertrand sniffed deeply, then started off towards the carriages in front. They were met part of the way, a slightly skinny, exhausted looking man wearing patchy, worn robes eyeing them. This was the werewolf. And by the look on his face, he knew what they were too. Bertrand had his fangs bared, and the wolf man looked unperturbed by that but clearly had his ire raised by the biters. "Who are you?" Vlad raised an eyebrow - he had his uniform on already!
"Should be asking you that. We are the ones supposed to be here after all. Who are you?" The man considered them for a minute, mostly fixed on Bertrand. "Professor Lupin. You know what I am. So you know why I couldn't get to Hogwarts before." Mentally running through the lunar calendar that he had been studying, Vlad nodded - the full moon had been last night. "We're students. I'm Vlad, this is Ingrid. That's our tutor, Bertrand. And nobody else knows what we are. We would like to keep it that way." The professor nodded seriously.
"My... condition is a secret also. Let's agree to keep each others secrets young man, agreed?" He didn't think the professor was lying, and nobody was trying to savage each other. Maybe it should be kept that way. "Alright. We can live with that. One question. Bitten or born?" He couldn't help being curious. Lupin looked surprised, but answered him anyway. "Bitten. Now if you don't mind, I will be resting. Good day." He bowed, almost invisibly so that the back of his neck was never exposed to them, then he turned and left the otherwise empty carriage.
Bertrand watched until he couldn't be seen at all anymore, then looked down at Vlad. "I suddenly wish I didn't have to escort you. The wolf will be in the teachers compartment." Vlad told the tutor he was welcome to stay in the back compartment with them, where the werewolf smell was nowhere near as noticeable. Bertrand deliberated for a minute, then nodded and joined them again. Harry and Draco both demanded explanations, and all they told them was "we aren't alone, we went to check. You guys can't use magic and Bertrand can defend himself. It's fine, they aren't a threat."
The drivers compartment was warded anyway, to ensure nobody could get in or out except the trolley lady so they couldn't sense him if they wanted to. Draco disappeared behind the latest issue of the Daily Prophet, which would be delivered to the school until Christmas now - the Malfoys had a permanent subscription and Draco was the main Malfoy now. Sirius Black was still front page news, though it wasn't really news when they repeatedly talked about his crimes and that he wasn't found, with repeated mentions of him being a loyal Voldemort supporter.
When Ingrid stood to leave a full half an hour before others would start arriving, Vlad was the only one to know why. It would be the last chance she got to be away from her mate for a while. "Be careful." She scoffed, repeated that she couldn't be caught hanging around with so many lions and left. Bertrand gave no outward signs of concern or knowledge, but for all Vlad knew he was feeling the pull himself. He did have four centuries of practice on the whole poker face.
Hermione found them at five to eleven, tanned and smiling as she fell into Ingrid's vacated seat. "Good holiday?" She launched into an animated description of it, which successfully distracted from Vlad staring out of the window, deep in thought and not even noticing the train had left until the air dropped about ten degrees. Even Bertrand shivered slightly, and the rainwater on the train window froze. "What the hell is going on?" Vlad was about to open his mouth and say "no idea", but the words didn't leave his throat, caught as a dark cloudy shape drifted past the window.
"Did you see that?" Everyone shook their head, but then there were more and everyone saw them. "Oh no." Draco seemed to recognise the shapes, his usually pale skin almost transparent in horror. "Dementors. The guard's from Azkaban. What are they doing on the Hogwarts Express?" A cold dread spread through his chest, and Vlad could suddenly think of nothing but Harry screaming in the Chamber, absolutely certain his mate was dying before him. Turning to check Harry was safe next to him, he was met with Harry looking utterly desolate, his whole body going rigid and saddened whimpers leaving his mouth.
The door of their compartment crept open, and there was a sort of dull sucking noise as puffs of visible breaths left everyone's mouths. Harry seized up completely, sliding off the seat to the floor clutching his head and Vlad didn't hesitate to move between the dementor and Harry, hoping to try and shield his mate with his body. The dementor drained him though, made Vlad feel weak and cold inside, Harry's screams still echoing in his mind. Nobody seemed to know what to do, and everyone looked almost... broken in their eyes as the thing swooped in to the compartment. Phantom hissed angrily, eyes glowing purple as she stood next to Vlad and Harry, slowing the cloaked abomination somewhat.
"Nobody is hiding Sirius Black under their cloaks. Go." Vaguely recognising the voice, Vlad shielded his eyes against a blinding bright light and suddenly the thing was gone, screams fading in his mind and the temperature practically leaping back up to normal. The light dissipated, and Vlad caught sight of Professor Lupin the werewolf holding out his wand. "Everyone back to their compartments. Go!"
The smell of wolf filled the room as Bertrand helped Vlad lay Harry across their seats, brushing a hand over Harry's clammy, sweaty forehead. "Everyone alright? Oh dear." Vlad refused to move aside, but Lupin cast one look at them all and immediately pulled out an enormous slab of... chocolate before handing it around in pieces. "Eat. It helps mitigate the effects of a dementor. Is he unconscious?" Vlad nudged at Harry's shoulder, and his mate finally stirred. "No, he's coming round." Harry pushed himself up to a seated position, looking around in confusion.
"Who was screaming? I heard... I heard screaming." Vlad had heard screaming in his head, but Harry wouldn't have heard that. "No-one was screaming Harry. Are you ok? We thought you were having some sort of fit." Apparently they had had a conversation while Vlad was panicking. A huge piece of chocolate was pushed into Harry's hand by the professor. "Eat. You'll feel better." Vlad took a bite himself now Harry was upright again, and felt warmth spread through his whole body with surprise. "Thank you sir." The wolf eventually left, but not before he heard "move!" in the hallway and definitely recognised that voice. Ingrid would never admit to worrying about them... especially in front of others.
Her eyes found Vlad first, as it was clear Harry was still recovering from whatever had happened. Vlad offered a tiny smile, as best he could to say he was ok because Harry was, and she scanned the rest of the compartment. "We're all fine. Mostly. And the thing has gone. Searching for Sirius Black according to that guy who chased it off." There was so much he couldn't actually say with Draco and Hermione and Harry present, but hopefully Ingrid got the message that he meant the werewolf, and that he had saved both their mates from the dementor effectively. Satisfied, Ingrid left "before anyone thought she cared."
Harry chewed on the chocolate and some colour returned to his face, cheeks slightly flushed in embarrassment when he heard he was the only one to faint. "Don't worry about it. Better get into our robes, not far to go." They pulled on their robes, all wearing the higher quality ones Draco had bought them - even Hermione - and the Weasley twins heads appeared in the doorway together. "You guys saw them too then? Blimey Harry, got enough chocolate?" Harry managed a chuckle, a sure sign he was feeling a little better as they quickly chatted with the twins about the dementor.
"Oops, we had better change too. See you at the table!" Harry finished forcing down the chocolate, hissing quietly to Lily now they were alone again. Phantom got plenty of fuss and attention as she purred in his lap for protecting Harry for him, and Vlad apologised and gave her a treat through the wired mesh front of her carrier when he had to put her back as the train started to slow down. "I'm going to go ahead, I'm supposed to chaperone with the other teachers." Bertrand checked everyone was alright again, then headed off down the train.
Sticking to Harry's side like glue, Vlad kept eyes out for more of those dementor things as they stepped off the carriage towards the thestral-drawn transport to Hogwarts. On the ride there, there was a flash of cold by the school entrance, where two rotting-cloak creatures hovered either side of the gate. "Are they... are they guarding the school?" Hermione peered through the window, shrugging. "Must be. They must be worried Black is going to try and get into the school. I'm sure we will find out at the feast."
Harry looked mostly recovered by the time they got in, so Vlad was no longer considering ignoring the note in his Hogwarts letter to stay behind. The others could get Harry back to the tower, he trusted their friends. The first years were lined up to be sorted, but the headmaster stood before the sorting. "You will of course know the Hogwarts Express was searched, and the entrances are guarded. Hogwarts will be playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, until the notorious escapee Sirius Black is caught. It is not in the nature of a dementor to listen to excuses or pleading, so ensure you do not leave the school grounds without permission. That's all for now, so let us move on to the newest faces of Hogwarts!" Dumbledore sat back down, and a sharp glare from McGonogall quieted the whispers filling the air as she unrolled the list of first years.
"Arden, Zachary!" a small blonde boy climbed up to the stool, looking terrified to be first as the hat slipped over his head. "Ravenclaw!" the hat didn't take long to decide, and Arden looked relieved to be able to escape and disappear into the crowd of his new House table. The next three went to Ravenclaw too, reaching "Evans, Richard", who became a Hufflepuff and Vlad caught a flicker of sadness on Harry's face - Evans had been his mothers maiden name. "Franks, Paul" became a Slytherin, the boys short, cropped brown hair disappearing the second the hat touched his head.
"Giles, Georgina!" In the otherwise silent hall, a loud sigh of complaint was heard. "It's George!" Vlad couldn't help it, and neither could Harry or the Weasley twins - they laughed. Nobody had ever interrupted McGonogall at the sorting, or even spoken out of turn before. The Gryffindor students fell silent when their head of house glared angrily in their direction, and Vlad caught Ingrid looking at the girl with amusement dancing in her eyes. A small, excitable looking girl with mousy curls that were possibly wilder than even Hermione's took to the stool, and Vlad watched as the hat took half a second to shout "GRYFFINDOR!". Professor McGonogall clearly rolled her eyes up to the ceiling, offering prayers to whatever deity she believed in now this cheeky first year was in her house.
Georgina Giles dropped down at the Gryffindor table with a wide grin, pointing at the crest on her robes that now bore the Gryffindor lion. "Must be magic! Oops. Shh!" She hushed them as a whole, miming zipping her mouth shut towards McGonogall and pasting an innocent smile on her face as the sorting resumed. "Greengrass, Astoria" became a Slytherin, following her older sister who was In the same year as them - third. There was another set of identical twins sorted into different houses, like the Patil sisters. "Jones, Jacob" became a Slytherin, but "Jones, Jason" became a Gryffindor. The strawberry blonde twins looked at each other sadly, prompted gently by McGonogall to seperate and head to their newly assigned tables.
"McCauley, Alex" became a Ravenclaw, "McDonald, Malcolm" a Hufflepuff, and Vlad spotted the werewolf Lupin sat up at the teachers table. By the time "Yates, Jonathan" joined the badgers too, Gryffindor had gained only six new students. The headmaster stood up again to introduce the new teacher. Or as it turned out, teachers. "Professor Kettleburn has decided to retire, in order to spend more time with his remaining limbs. Care of Magical Creatures will now be taught by our very own Rubeus Hagrid!" The Gryffindor table cheered the loudest for the gatekeeper, who flushed and bowed and smiled over at them.
"And our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin!" The applause wasn't thunderous, but still led by Gryffindor. Surely he couldn't be worse than Lockhart had been. He had gotten rid of that dementor after all. Once the feast officially started, Vlad overheard Jason Jones complaining sadly about his brother being sorted into 'the total opposite' house. "How do brothers end up in such different places?" Hermione nudged the boy and pointed to Vlad. "Vlad's sister is in Slytherin, and they still get along." Jason looked over at Vlad almost desperately. "Really? Where?" Ingrid had a habit of sitting in the same place all the time, changing the fan club around her periodically.
"There. The one the new Slytherin boys are trying to get the attention of." Jason looked, spotting his own twin brother staring at Ingrid. "That's your sister? Wow." The boy seemed more relaxed with proof he and his brother weren't the first siblings to be seperated by snake and lion, and Harry was watching the Weasley twins entertain the new Georgina. "Don't call me that. I hate it. Everyone calls me George! I'm... what's it called? Muggle born! My parents were so surprised when I got the letter."
"I'm Gred, that's Forge. Also known as Fred and George Weasley. I might need a new nickname since you stole my name. Us George's gotta stick together eh?" Vlad kept a close eye on Harry, but his mate seemed completely recovered by now. The fifth year Gryffindor prefects had a fairly easy job, three boys and three girls the only new additions. "New password is Fortuna Major. Come along first years!" Vlad had to hang back, waving the others off and Ingrid was doing the same a few feet away. Bertrand joined them a couple of minutes later, beckoning them to follow him towards a side room off the Great Hall.
It was clear immediately why the three of them were there - so was Professor Lupin. "Is this to warn us not to kill each other because we are biters and he's a wolf?" Professor McGonogall looked surprised they were being so candid, and already knew. "Uh. Yes. I suppose." Vlad smiled tightly, itching to get back to the tower already. "We met on the train. And we don't want our secret out any more than he does, so we agreed. Isn't that right Professor?" Lupin nodded stiffly. "Remus, you should be aware. This boy is Harry Potters best friend." Vlad's brow creased in confusion - the werewolf looked almost pained by the idea. "Why does that matter?"
Lupin closed his eyes, took a deep breath and opened them again, amber irises glowing with suppressed emotions. "It doesn't. If you'll excuse me Minerva, I am still recovering from last night and could do with some rest. I promise to cause no trouble with the resident vampires. Good night students, Mr du Fortunesa." Bertrand left almost immediately after, the smell of werewolf apparently too much. Vlad turned to his head of house as Ingrid left too. "Don't worry Professor. He helped save Harry from the dementor, and he's a bitten not a born. We have no reason to fall out with him." Professor McGonogall nodded, then sent him on his way. Hurrying back to to the tower, Vlad found the dorm exactly as he remembered it. It even smelled the same. They were home again.
-YDHP-
Upon reviewing plans and such with this story, I have noticed some ages don't adhere to canon. So apologies if that bothers you, have a snitch cookie! *feeds*
Vlad's side of the chapter is only so much longer because it seemed pointless switching to Harry POV just for the sorting, and he had to chat to McGonogall. I am still making the effort to balance the boys out, worry not.